HP 612C printer - Fails to print documents

[mataney]

Hello everyone,

I am a college student struggling to get by with 7 year old printer so please help me out in figuring what is the problem that I have encountered...

I have HP 612C printer that served me well for the past 7 years but for during the past week and a half every time I send a file to be printed, printer draws in the paper and all of suddent sends me THIS DOCUMENT FAILED TO PRINT message. I have tried to troubleshoot the problem myself using the owner manual, starting with wiping and cleaning cartridges, re-installing driver for the printer, checking cables connections, making sure there is enough paper, dusting, cleaning, polishing u know it but that did not solve my problem...... Basically there are two light indicators on the printer, on for the power and the other one is the paper refill/resume button. When the problem occurs power light stays steady on and the resume button light is blinking. Pressing resume button does not do anything. I have to cancel printing job and turn off and on the printer in order to reset its light indicators to what they should be normaly but if I try to print agin - same thing happens. Freeing more memory did not fix the problem. Restarting the computer did not do anything...So I am wondering where and what is the problem? Communicationg between the computer and the printer? Is it printer itself? Computer? The printing job stalls exactly when the ink cartridge is place over the paper. After the error message that I receive, paper jams and stays in the printer until I turn it off...

The main reason why I am trying to fix this printer is because I have purchased 4-5 brand new black cartridges off of eBay hoping to put them to a good use printing transcripits for my lectures and term papers since these are the only funcitions that I am currently using the printer for, so if you could help me out either with the recommendation for finding a cheap new printer that uses reasonably priced black ink or with some suggestion on what could I do to fix my old printer (i.e. is this something that can be fixed by a lay person or not?)....

Thanks for your time and I appologize if my description of the problem is not clear enough - I am by no means computer tech major, so no worries there...

 

[Manuchau]

7 years of steady, problem-free use is a pretty good record. I have 2 suggestions. One is to e-mail the support dep't on the HP web site. Explain the problem clearly, and I'm sure you will get a response within 24 hrs. I've done this on behalf of customers many times, even for printers that are old and "out of warranty"
Also, if you are an eBay user, you certainly can pick up another one of these printers very cheaply, so that you can use up your #20 and #49 cartridges.
And - you might consider a newer model of printer soon. Your printer prints slowly, and there are a number of newer printers which are much faster and are cheap to operate.

In any case - best of luck!!

 

[Osage]

To mataney,

I did google the hp612c and found HP information and tech support for the 612c. At this point in time, talking to a real live person at HP will cost more than the printer is worth but there is much you can do yourself.

I would suspect three probable causes. Mechanical problems, driver problems due to bit rot, or even something as simple as one or more bad cartridges.

Test 1-------with computer off turn on power to printer----press and then release resume--that should cause the printer to execute a test print--if printer then prints a test page properly, you suspect drivers, a bad cable, or the way the computer communicates with the printer. If the printer fails to print a test page then its less likely you have any of the previously mentioned problems. But failing to get a test page, try test 2.

test 2 would be replacing the black cartridge first--again try test 1--if no test page prints try replacing the tri-color cartridge. If still no test page your printer is probably broken and not worth fixing.--but read HP troubleshooting also--they may have ideas you have not tried.


But thats my immediate take on the matter--others may have some other ideas.
But try my suggestions--they are easy to do yourself--post back on results. We on this forum can go from there.

 

[mataney]

Thank you both for your replies. They helped me quite a bit in figuring out what I need to do. I tried test 1 and 2 and it looks like the printer is broke. It failed to print the test page. Switching cartridges did not fix or change anything.

So what printer should I be looking for to replace this one? Is there an updated verion of 612C that uses same type of cartridge? Or do I have to buy the same verion of the printer in order to use remaining cartridges?

Another thing that I am wondering about is the connection cable. Can I use the same cable connection for a newer verison of HP printer or not? I did check few auction listings on eBay and it seems to me that most times connection cable is not included with the printer so I am wondering if I really need a new cable with a new printert or this can be somehow bypassed?

I have been looking at HP 3915 Deskjet printer but I am not sure if it is really worth upgrading given that quality and speed of the printer are not my priorities- main thing is that printing (ink/printer) is cheap and printer is reliable -i.e. that it most likely won't break for another 2 years while I am in school. I know it is hard to reconcile cheap/good/reliable, especialy when it comes down to used printers but what would you recommend me to do?

Thanks again for your insight and time taken to reply to my thread.

 

[Osage]

To mataney,

You are basically in the new printer market. So all options are on the table. Hp printers are not highly regarded on these forums---they are more rip off devices than anything else. And long after the three of four cartridges you have are depleted, you will still be buying pricey cartridges. But as Manuchau pointed out, you can still buy HP printers that use those cartridges. And HP's can be good choices if you are willing to refill your cartridges.--so keep HP on the table. You can always also always peddle those unused cartridges on a campus bulletin board.

But for a basic printer choices---you are looking at either a monochrome Laser, a color laser, or an inkjet of some sort.---and then you can also decide if you want just a printer or an all on one that copies, scans, and maybe also faxes.

If you are in the USA, it may be very very hard to beat a Canon MP780 which you may be able to find as low as $100.00 after rebates at Fry's electronics--or outpost.com. In an inkjet, almost any non-chipped Canon uing the BCI-3&6 cartridge line is hard to beat for printing economy---especially if you refill or
use dirt cheap third party cartridges.--and the MP780 is just one of these.--most other non-chippd Canon models are hard to find.--try ebay. Chipped Canons are still fairly economical using OEM cartridges--but can get super economical if you refill--but that involves a learning curve for you--and simply takes time while some professor of yours is trying to minimise your free time.

But if you need just need monochrome text, its still hard to beat a Laser. I will let other advise you on that area for best models---but you could well get a good one for under $100.---color Lasers are far more pricey--and some models short shot their cartridges which cost $300. or so to replace.

But with two years of college left, your choice in a printer may well dictate how much money you have left to spend on other things.

You can reuse cables---but most printers now take USB cables. And don't suck in to buying a $20.00 USB cable--although many vendors will be happy to sell you one at that--you can get good ones at $6.00. But make sure you have the right type USB cable for your printer--and your computers usb ports are compatable. If your computer does not have usb-2 ports you can buy cheap add on boards to get you the capacity. But a bi-directional parallel cable should never break if undamaged.--except few modern printers still use them.--the non-chipped Canon ip4000 is an exception.

In short, lots of information required to properly reserch the printer market. You now have my take---lots of others here more expert than I --who may have other advice---but its your money and your choice---and are you willing to refill your own cartrdges-------and get to the point where the paper cost is higher than the consumable cost?

 

[fish]

Check eBay for a HP 612 for $5.99 + $12.00 shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-Deskjet-612-...ryZ99276QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I purchased a Canon Pixma 6000 yesterday for photos (easy to refill) but I also have an old HP712 that keeps on ticking and takes 40 ml of black ink for refills - older printers have large tanks whick reduces the time between refills.

As Osage says, the Canon MP780 is great especially if you presently don't have a scanner - you will not believe how handy it is.

Good luck